Portable lectern



Jan. 13, "1959 H A, PRQNlO 2,868,878

'I PORTABLE LEdTERN Filed July 9, 1956 lll/11111111111111111111 INVENTOR H. A. Prom'ol ATTORNEY United States Patent PoRTABLE LECTERN Harry A. Pronio, Zanesville, Ohio Application July 9, 19s6,seria1N6. 596,756

' 6 claims. (cl. 179-1) The present invention relates to improvements `in lectern or rostrums generally used in public speaking.

Most public speaking rooms or halls are generally provided with rostrums or lecterns for the benefit of the speakers but quite often such podiums are not available resulting in inconvenience to the speaker. It is an object 'of this invention to provide a portable lectern which may be readily transported from place to place and which is adapted to be folded into a standard carrying case during transportation.

A further object of the invention is to so construct the lectern whereby it may house built-in amplifying and speaker units and may also include compartments for personal files and the like.

A still further object of the invention is to provide a portable lectern which can be inexpensively manufactured, which consists of relatively few parts, which is attractive in 'appearance and which is convenient to transport.

Other objects and advantages of the present invention will appear from the following detailed description taken in connection with the accompanying drawing showing a preferred embodiment of the invention wherein:

Figure 1 is a perspective View of the lectern in operative position. f

Figure 2 is a vertical sectional view taken through line 2-2 of Figure l, and

Figure 3 is a front View of the lectern.

Referring to the drawing in detail, the lectern indicated generally by the numeral comprises two sections 11 and 12 which combine to form a rectangular case. The section 11, which is slightly larger than section 12, forms the front half of the lectern and comprises a bottom wall 13, side walls 14, 15 and front and rear Walls 16 and 17. The upper edges of the side walls are slightly inclined and a removable plate 18 covers the upper open end of the section. The front wall 16 is provided with an opening 19 and extending inwardly from the front wall and mounted to said wall over the opening is a speaker unit 20. A microphone unit 21 is slidably supported on the plate 18 and is suitably wired to the speaker 20. The microphone is frictionally supported and may be raised or lowered at will. The cover plate also carries a switch 22 and a suitable volume control 23. A socket 24 is mounted in wall 14 for suitable connection to an electrical source.

The section 12 includes a bottom wall 25, side walls 26 and 27 and front and rear walls 28 and 29. The upper edges of the side walls are inclined in the same direction as the upper edges of the side walls 14 and 15 and form a continuous edge with said front section edges whereby the top surface of the two sections is in a single plane when the lectern is in use. The upper 'edge 30 of the rear wall 29 extends slightly above the side walls to ICC form a retaining ledge for any papers or the like resting on the upper surface of the lectern. A pair of rails 31 are mounted on the front and rear walls of the section 12 to removably support a cover plate 32.

The two sections 11 and 12 are hinged together by a hinge 33, the walls 17 and 28 being suitably recessed to receive the hinge whereby the walls 17 and 28 lie flush against each other as seen in Figures l and 2. When the section 12 is pivoted to closed position as shown in dotted lines in Figure 2, the plate 32 is first removed in order that the microphone 21 may be received within the section 12 without interference from the cover plate. When not in use, the plate 32 is stored within the section 12. The section 12 also serves as a compartment for storing papers, les andthe like.

A carrying handle 34 has one end secured to the wall 15 of one section by a thumb screw 35 and has its other end secured to the wall 27 of the other section by a thumb screw 36. The handle 34 also serves as a securing means for holding the two sections in locked position while being transported. As seen in Figure 3, when the thumb screw 36 is removed, the handle may be swung from its dotted line position to its full line position thereby permitting pivoting of the upper section about hinge 33 to its operative position. This procedure is reversed to lock the lectern in closed position.

From the foregoing description, it is readily apparent that the present construction is well adapted to accomplish the objects and advantages of the present invention. It will be understood, however, that minor changes may be made in the details of construction without departing from the spirit of the invention as set forth in the following claims.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed is:

l. A portable lectern comprising a base section having a lower wall, side walls, front and rear walls, said front wall extending above said rear wall, a plate connecting said front and rear walls, a second section having a lower wall, side walls, front and rear walls, said front wall eX- tending above said rear wall, said front wall being of the same height as the rear wall of the base section, said last named walls being hinged along their upper edges whereby said second section forms an extension of the base section to provide a rectilinear traveling case, and a plate member closing the open end of the second section.

2. A portable lectern as defined in claim 1, wherein said second section forms a housing and said plate member being removable.

3. A portable lectern as defined in claim 1, a microphone supported on said first mentioned plate.

4. A portable lectern as defined in claim l, a microphone supported on said first mentioned plate, and an amplifying unit and a loud speaker housed in said base section.

5. A portable lectern as defined in claim l, and handle means for securing the two sections in closed position.

6. A portable lectern as defined in claim 2, and handle means for securing the two sections in closed position, a microphone supported on said first mentioned plate and an amplifying unit and a loud speaker housed in said base section.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 

